Rauner jabs at Quinn's agriculture director for not having farming experience

Saturday

Aug 2, 2014 at 12:00 PM

The Associated Press

Illinois' farming chief became the target of criticism this week from Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner.

Lee Enterprises Newspapers' Springfield bureau reported Saturday that Rauner, a Winnetka businessman, did not mention Agriculture director Bob Flider by name in outlining his agriculture plans. But he said the agency's director must "have firsthand farming experience."

Flider was named director of agriculture after he lost a 2010 re-election race for the Illinois House. He then voted, as a lame duck in the House, for Quinn's 67 percent income-tax increase after earlier opposing it.

In response, Quinn's campaign office released a statement that highlighted agriculture-related achievements.

His appointment to the Agriculture Department post -- one of a handful of lame-duck lawmakers who got Quinn administration jobs after voting for the tax hike -- drew hoots and howls from the GOP, particularly because Flider has never been a farmer.

Flider argued in his November 2012 Senate confirmation hearings that he isn't a farmer but represented a farm-rich district and the Decatur headquarters of processing giant Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Rep. Adam Brown, a Champaign Republican who beat Flider in 2010, is a fifth-generation farmer and Rauner campaign adviser. He objects to Flider's continued support for an estate tax which, he says, strips farms of their value before they are passed on to the next generation.

Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf says the ag post might be the only one in Rauner's cabinet with a vocational requirement.

"I would urge Rauner to focus on the educational background as well as the administrative background of candidates," Brown said.

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